First founded in the 1980s as a rescue center for abandoned and injured animals, the Belize Zoo is now the premier wildlife educational center in the country. Every year, thousands of foreign visitors and locals alike visit the Belize Zoo to learn more about the natural wealth of the country. Today, over 170 animals belonging to 45 different species now reside on the 29-acre property, all of them indigenous to Belize.
Far different from a traditional zoo, the Belize Zoo is proud of its role in helping to further the conservation efforts of the country. Every year, the Belize Zoo helps rescue, rehabilitate, and protect injured and orphaned animals. The Belize Zoo is also the first facility in the country to be completely accessible for reduced mobility visitors, giving everyone a chance to learn more about the wildlife and plants that make the country such a beautiful, natural paradise.
Located 29 miles west of Belize City on the George Price Highway, the Belize Zoo allows visitors to see and interact with some of the most iconic animal species in the country, including jaguars, enormous harpy eagles, brightly colored keel billed toucans (the national bird), and the great Baird's tapir, Belize's national animal. None of the animals live in artificial enclosures, instead thriving in their natural environments.
Guided tours are available in both English and Spanish, and visitors will be able to see, touch, and learn more about the many animals that call Belize home. Visitors will also be able to take unforgettable photographs next to the zoo's ambassadors, including Junior Buddy the jaguar, Runt the Keel-billed Toucan, Indy the tapir, and Panama the harpy eagle. Other animals at the zoo include gibnuts ("royal rats"), margays, ocelots, coatis, kinkajous ("night walkers"), toucans, king vultures, macaws, giant jabiru storks, endangered Morelet's crocodiles, colorful tree frogs, coral snakes, and boa constrictor snakes.
The Belize Zoo has a gift shop with all proceeds going towards the zoo's conservation efforts. The Belize Zoo uses proceeds from guided tours and admission fees to continue to rescue and protect the animals of Belize, operating one of the world's most successful harpy eagle restoration programs. The Belize Zoo is a non-profit organization that teaches thousands of Belizean schoolchildren every year about the importance of caring for and protecting their country's rich natural heritage.
Caves Branch Jungle Lodge offers guests the opportunity to tour both the Belize Zoo as well as the nearby Community Baboon Sanctuary.